My Voiceover Productivity Set Up:

By British Male Voiceover Artist Chris Tester

When I first designed this studio, I went deep down into the rabbit hole of productivity desk setups on YouTube, and that's a potentially costly rabbit hole. People are showcasing the latest tech elegantly composed to the nth degree. A calibrated minimalism that marries aesthetics with productivity, and this was all because I didn't want my studio just to be a place to record. I'd spend years huddled in a corner buried under sound blankets. So what I really craved was a space with natural light that I could work throughout the day in!

Are you curious to know how did I do that? What equipment did I use? Let's dig in to get a detailed review of products as well!

How Much Time did it Take?

This studio took about two months to build structurally, so I had a lot of time to review my options. And I've previously covered the rationale behind most of my decisions when setting up my studio in this video already. 

But it's one thing to design a space and another thing to live in it. So as it's coming up to me having the studio for a year, I wanted to review what I've changed, what I've kept, and the rationale behind that. Of course, the prominent place to start is with my recording equipment, and the computers that I use are incredibly important in that. 

Voiceover Equipment – That I Used for Desk Setup

  • M1 Mac Mini

So I use an M1 Mac Mini as my main recording device because it runs completely silently, and having it in the room is convenient, especially in remote recording sessions. It means that I don't have to store it either in a separate room or create some form of partition. 

  • MacBook Pro

I also have my MacBook pro integrated into this setup. Now my MacBook Pro is much more robust in terms of ram and storage, which I use mainly for my video editing. The only problem with that is that because it's an Intel processor, it does get quite noisy, so when I am doing all of that content creation, it does start to kick off, but that's not an issue when I'm doing it my recording. 

And the useful thing about having the MacBook Pro is that I can take it anywhere with me. Hence, if I want a change of scene, if I want to go outside, or if I want to go to a cafe or anything else like that, then it's still fantastic to be able to take all of my work with me on the go as well. 

  • Audient iD22

My Audient iD22 preamp is something I've had for a few years now, and it's a really solid piece of kit; it's right in the middle of my desk so that I can adjust the gain either during editing or recording. 

  • Logitech MX Master Wireless Mouse, SteelSeries Apex Pro, and KVM Switch

My Logitech mouse and steel series keyboard is probably the closest I'm ever going to get to streaming, but the marvelous thing about it is that thanks to the KVM switch. I can switch between the two macs seamlessly without changing any cables over. 

  • LG UltraWide Monitor

My LG UltraWide monitor has proven a real lifesaver in recording sessions. It means that I can have my door up and the script and the client in a remote session. Whereas when I'm doing marketing, it means that I can have my CRM and my emails up and any content that I'm working with. So it means that I can swap between things so much more quickly. 

  • Yellowtech MIKA Stand and ProCase Sling Pencil

My Yellowtech MIKA Stand has stood up well. It's still fully adjustable, and I haven't had to calibrate it at all in a year. In terms of having to tighten it up or it getting loose or anything else like that and as a little but incredibly valuable addition, I've also included a little pen holder on the side of it, so I know exactly where to put my eye pencil after I've annotated a script. 

  • AiFeelife Adjustable Bed Tablet Stand

To hold my iPad, I use an adjustable bed tablet stand which is no longer available via Amazon, but other equivalents probably are. The great thing about this also is the fact that I can move it into a position, and it just stays there. There's no sagging after time. 

  • Genelec Speakers

My Genelec speakers were a significant addition for editing and the sake of my ears, so I wasn't listening to things through headphones all of the time. Though I appreciate that I am a bit of a heathen, they are a desk height when they should be at ear height. 

  • Gooseneck iPhone holder and Camo

I got a Gooseneck iPhone holder for a webcam and then used one of my old iPhones as my webcam using software that I would recommend called Camo. So it allows my webcam to be at a much higher definition than my old one was, and it also means that I can move it around. So if a director wants to see what I'm doing physically with my body while I'm doing voice-over, then I can just swivel it immediately, and then they can see my full body. 

  • AMP Light

And because the video is so seamlessly integrated into my whole setup, it's why I've started to try doing video messaging as opposed to just cold email marketing. I soon found that having a range of ambient light sources and the leading lights in my studio was important to me. So I added an adjustable lamp, and I also backed a Kickstarter campaign for this amp light, which is an entirely adjustable lovely little webcam. You can take it off its fixing, adjust its angle, and also the warmth and coolness of the light as well as the strength. 

  • Nikon Tripod, Ulanzi Smartphone Rig, RODE Microphone

But probably the most notable additions to my studio have been on the content creation side. I use my own iPhone to create these videos in the vast majority of my content, but I also invested in a Nikon tripod, which I use all of the time, and the Ulanzi smartphone rig that's mounted on top of it. There's a rode video pro directional mic attached to the top, which again is a plug and play type of thing which just means that my audio quality is still of good quality. 

This setup, along with the portable iPhone folder, which is telescopic and has its lights, means creating content such as my Instagram stories, when I'm doing lots of time-lapse stuff, or when I'm doing reels things like that. It's very simple and easy to do them quickly because these things are readily at hand. I don't have to build the kind of up every time because I'm an Apple fanboy. 

  • IVSII G2 Pocket Light

Once I've created that content, rather than plug anything in, I can just airdrop my files straight onto my computer. In the same area, having two IVSII G2 pocket lights, which I'm able to use in various setups, has become invaluable. One I use to create this blue, purple effect which hopefully creates a sort of brand continuity. And the other one I use almost like a ring light essentially, but it's not as bulky as an actual proper ring light. So it just adds that little bit extra so that I'm not in shadow or completely blue. 

Where to Place All These?

And all of these things are kept in my chest of drawers, where I also store all of my journals where I do my brainstorming, content creation, and marketing ideas. And I soon found out that it was invaluable to have these in the same room in which I was working rather than in a separate room, and I had to go and fetch the journals and go backward and forwards all of the time. Plus, everything has a particular home to satisfy my OCD.

Where to Buy These All?

These all are available at Amazon, and links to all mentioned products are in the description.

As a result of all this content creation, this space gets a lot messier than I ever imagined it would because maybe I'm changing outfits for real, or I'm editing together various bits of content. At the same time as trying to edit audio, it all goes a bit crazy, but I always make sure that I completely clean down my space, spray it and try and get as much cat hair off it as possible. So at the end of the day, it still feels orderly again because that's a lovely space to come into the very next morning.

Wrap Up

So there you have it; that's an overview of my space that it is now, and hopefully, I've given you a bit of an insight about what things have been really useful right from the get-go and other things I've adapted as my voice-over business is grown. The key takeaway is that content creation has become so much more a crucial part of my business. Therefore I've had to augment my studio to be able to function in that way, as well as a recording studio and a place where I just do my email marketing. 

Thanks as ever for joining me. Please do like subscribe and spread the word about the channel, and I look forward to seeing you next week. Chris Tester - British Male Voiceover Artist